TWO men have been convicted of virtually wiping out three generations of the same family in the horrific Birkby arson attack.

And the jury at Leeds Crown Court is to resume its deliberations tomorrow, to decide if a third man was also responsible for the inferno which killed eight people - five of them young girls - in Osborne Road on May 12 last year.

The jury yesterday found drop-out student Shaied Iqbal, 26, of Springdale Street, Thornton Lodge, guilty of eight counts of murder after a six-week trial.

He faces a life jail term when he is sentenced later.

His accomplice, Nazar Hussain, 24, of Dryclough Road, Crosland Moor, was cleared of murder, but convicted by a majority of 10 to two of eight counts of manslaughter.

Iqbal and Hussain were also found guilty of conspiracy to commit arson with intent to endanger life.

Tomorrow, the jury will continue considering its verdict on Shakiel Shazad, 23, of Gledholt Road, Gledholt.

He has pleaded not guilty to eight murders and arson with intent to endanger life.

A fourth man, Nazar Hussain's brother, Anwar, 27, also of Dryclough Road, was cleared by the jury of conspiracy to commit arson to motor vehicles.

When that verdict was announced, the married father-of-four was allowed to leave the dock and join his family in the public gallery.

Iqbal - a former Greenhead College student who dropped out two years into an engineering degree course at Bradford University - stood impassively in the dock when the guilty verdicts were announced.

The court had heard that the fire-bombers targeted the house in revenge against 18-year-old Mohammed Ateeq-ur-Rehman - known as Ateeq - after Iqbal believed he had spoken out about a secret love affair he, Iqbal, was having with a woman called Mobeen Mumtaz.

Petrol bombs were thrown in the house at 2am and an inferno quickly swept through the terraced home.

It killed Ateeq, along with his mother, sister and five young nieces, aged from just six months to 13 years old.

During the trial, the jury heard how petrol was poured through the letterbox and petrol bombs were thrown into the house, blasting metal nuts about along with the flames.

The jury heard that Iqbal blamed Huddersfield New College student Ateeq, after news of Iqbal's love affair with Mobeen Mumtaz got back to her parents.

He also had another grudge against Ateeq, stemming from a court case which at the time of the fire was pending in Newcastle and in which Iqbal was facing charges.

He believed Ateeq may have been a witness.

The Newcastle trial came after a young Asian couple eloped and married in Newcastle against her family's wishes. The woman was brought back to the Kirklees area by force.

During the murder trial, the prosecution said the defendants drove to Osborne Road in two cars, with a petrol can, firebombs and a lighter.

The prosecution said the men in the dock had shown "not a shred of genuine remorse" and were "blaming each other, blaming everyone but themselves, in an effort to save their skins".

Iqbal said his role was to throw stones at Ateeq's car, adding:

"None of us intended to hurt anyone that night."

But the court was also told Iqbal boasted about starting the fire to a friend hours after the fire.

He told the friend: "Shit happens."

Nazar Hussain said he had only gone along to Osborne Road to torch a car and was shocked when he realised what was happening.

But police found his fingerprints on a petrol can nearby.

Shazad said he only went with the gang to act as a lookout while the others set fire to cars.

During the trial, prosecuting barrister Paul Worsley QC said: "Those inside the house never stood a chance.

"They were asleep and they had no warning."